System and Method for Closed Loop Decisionmaking in an Automated Care System

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a system functional for operating and updating an interactive voice response self care system which utilizes various types of models. The system is capable of improving the performance of the self care system through updating the models used in that system in a closed loop manner. The system is also potentially configured to utilize input from a human agent, such as a customer service representative, to which a customer call is transferred by a self care system.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is in the field interactive voice response (IVR) systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Enterprises are continuously looking for ways to provide quality serviceto their customers while at the same time minimizing their customerservice operations costs. In response to these concerns, many businesseshave utilized Self Care Systems (SCSs), which are computerized systemswhich allow a customer interaction, such as the reporting of a problemwith an existing service, to be performed in an automated manner. Inorder to increase the effectiveness of SCSs, many businesses utilizeSCSs which have the ability to understand and make natural languagestatements, that is, to understand and make declarations or remarks in ahuman language such as English, French or Japanese, rather thanrequiring a customer to utilize a more artificial interface such as atouch tone menu system. Thus, when a call is received, the SCS generallybegins the interaction by playing a prompt, which is an audio sequencerequesting information from the customer, such as “How may I help you?”The interaction then continues with the customer making a series ofstatements, which are natural language communications that supplyinformation or make requests, and the SCS playing a series of promptsuntil the interaction is complete.

While these SCSs are functional, they suffer from a number ofweaknesses. While automatic speech recognition (ASR) and naturallanguage understanding (NLU) software have reached a high level ofsophistication, word recognition and context recognition are notperfect. This can lead to an SCS repeatedly prompting a customer formore information. This may cause frustration on the part of thecustomer, lead to a greater number of abandoned calls, and, potentially,lose revenue.

Because of technological deficiencies, many businesses supplement SCSswith assisted care systems (ACSs). These are systems that allowcustomers to interact directly with human agents. One type of system, inwhich an SCS is often supplemented with an ACS, is an interactive voiceresponse (IVR) system. IVR systems interact with callers using naturallanguage. However, augmenting SCSs with ACSs can lead to additionalproblems. For example, some SCSs prematurely transfer calls to ACSs.This may lead to increased costs associated with running the ACS. Evenmore troublesome are situations where an SCS is supplemented by an ACSwhich is made up of multiple agent groups, that is, by groups of one ormore human operators with special training to process certain types ofinteractions. This creates the potential for an SCS to transfer acustomer to an agent group which is not properly trained to process thatcustomer's requests. An agent within the agent group is then required toassess the customer's needs and transfer the agent to a different group.Such improper transfers result in customer frustration and increase thecosts of maintaining the ACS.

In addition to the above weaknesses, SCSs do not include any mechanismfor automatically updating the software they use for processing naturallanguage interactions. Thus, even if a particular type of statement isidentified as particularly likely to result in a misdirected transfer,or in an unnecessary request for additional information, it would stillbe necessary to undertake a cumbersome manual update process in order toimprove the SCS performance.

Certain embodiments of the present invention are designed to provide asolution to certain of the weaknesses set forth above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments of the invention of this application comprise a systemcomprising a computer memory containing one or more models utilized toprocess a customer interaction comprising one or more statements made bya customer and one or more prompts played for the customer. As used inthis application, computer memory should be understood to include anydevice or medium, or combination of devices and media, which is capableof storing computer readable and/or executable instructions and/or data.In such embodiments, the system might further comprise a set of computerexecutable instructions configured to coordinate processing of thecustomer interaction, to maintain a set of context information relatedto the customer interaction, to create a data record comprisinginformation related to the customer interaction, to store informationfrom the data record in the computer memory, to utilize informationstored in the computer memory to automatically create one or more modelupdates, and to automatically update one or more of the models using oneor more of the model updates. As used in this application, set ofcomputer executable instructions should be understood to include anycombination of one or more computer instructions regardless of howorganized, whether into one or more modules, one or more programs, adistributed system or any other organization.

Additional embodiments of the invention might include, either inaddition to, or as an alternative to one or more of the componentsdescribed above, an agent terminal operable to allow an agent to processa customer interaction which might, in addition to the statementsdescribed above, comprise statements made by the agent to the customer.Further, in some embodiment the set of computer executable instructionsmight be further configured to create a second data record, determine ifthe data record and the second data record contain information relatingto the same customer interaction, and store information from the seconddata record in the computer memory. In some embodiments, the computerexecutable instructions might be configured such that, if the datarecord and the second data record contain information related to thesame customer interaction, those data records would be correlated withone another.

In some embodiments, the computer executable instructions might beconfigured to make at least one recommendation regarding processing thecustomer interaction. In some embodiments, the computer executableinstructions might identify a set of actions, and perform an evaluationof the desirability of the actions in the set of actions. In someembodiments where the computer executable instructions are configured tomake the at least one recommendation regarding processing the customerinteraction, that at least one recommendation might be based at least inpart on the evaluation of the desirability of an action in the set ofactions. In some embodiments, where the set of computer executableinstructions are configured to make at least one recommendation relatedto processing a customer interaction, that at least one recommendationmight be based on a means for evaluating options.

In some embodiments, one or more of the models stored in the computermemory might comprise a statistical prediction model, and, if the set ofcomputer executable instructions is configured to make at least onerecommendation related to the processing of a customer interaction, thatat least one recommendation might be based at least in part on thestatistical prediction model. In some embodiments where one or more ofthe models in the computer memory is a statistical prediction model, theone or more model updates created by the set of computer executableinstructions might comprise an update for the statistical predictionmodel.

In some embodiments, the set of computer executable instructions mightbe configured to determine at least one word included in a statementfrom the one or more customer statements. In some embodiments, the oneor more models in the computer memory might comprise a statisticallanguage model. In some embodiments in which the computer executableinstructions are configured to determine at least one word included in astatement from the one or more customer statements, that determinationmight be based in part on the statistical language model. In someembodiments in which the one or more models in the computer memorycomprise a statistical language model, one or more of the model updatesmight comprise an update for the statistical language model.

In some embodiments, the set of computer executable instructions mightbe configured to determine a meaning, that is, a significance, of astatement from the one or more customer statements. In some suchembodiments, one or more of the models in the computer memory mightcomprise a semantic classification model, which might be used todetermine the meaning of a statement from the one or more customerstatements. In some embodiments wherein the one or more models in thecomputer memory comprises a semantic classification model, one or moreof the model updates might comprise an update for the semanticclassification model.

In some embodiments, the one or model updates might comprise one or moreupdated models. In some embodiments, the set of computer executableinstructions might be configured to automatically update one or more ofthe models using one or more of the model updates in response to atrigger. In some embodiment, that trigger might be a usage milestone.

In some embodiments, the computer memory, either in addition to, or inalternative to, the contents described above, might comprise a set ofpotential call dispositions, an indication of the desirability of thecall dispositions and/or a record of a disposition for a customerinteraction.

Further, in some embodiments, the set of computer executableinstructions might be further configured to coordinate processing of thecustomer interaction through implementation of one or more actions.

In addition to the above, some embodiments of the invention mightcomprise a computerized system for improving an interactive voiceresponse system. Such embodiments might comprise an interactive voiceresponse system, a decision agent, and a feedback system. In suchembodiments, the interactive voice response system might be activated byinitiation of a customer interaction, and the decision agent might beconfigured with a set of computer executable instructions to determine aroute through the interactive voice response system. In embodimentswhere the decision agent is configured with a set of computer executableinstructions to determine a route through an interactive voice responsesystem, the determination might be made based on a set of informationrelated to a customer interaction and a predication model. In someembodiments, upon completion of a customer interaction, the interactivevoice response system might be configured to transfer the customer to acustomer service representative. The customer service representativemight then determine a customer satisfaction level, that is, a measureof the customer's thoughts and/or feelings, with the interactive voiceresponse system. That customer satisfaction level might be reported tothe feedback system, which might then use it to modify the predictionmodel used by the decision agent.

Some embodiments might comprise a computer readable medium havingcomputer executable instructions for performing the method comprisingthe steps of: capturing a natural language statement made during aninteraction with a self care system; automatically creating a textualrepresentation of the natural language statement using a computerprogram; associating the textual representation of the natural languagestatement and a set of context information corresponding to the naturallanguage statement; adding the textual representation of the naturallanguage statement and the set of context information to a first datarecord; merging the first data record and a second data record to createa third data record, the second data record comprising a set ofinformation related to an interaction with an assisted care system;automatically generating a statistical language model based at least inpart on the third data record; and updating the computer program usingthe statistical language model.

Further, some embodiments might comprise a computer readable mediumhaving computer executable instructions for performing the methodcomprising the steps of: capturing a natural language statement madeduring an interaction with a self care system; automatically creating atextual representation of the natural language statement; automaticallycreating a classification corresponding to the natural languagestatement; adding the textual representation and the classification to afirst data record; appending the classification to a second data record,the second data record comprising a set of information related to aninteraction with an assisted care system; merging the first data recordand the second data record to create a third data record; automaticallygenerating a semantic model based at least in part on the third datarecord; and updating the computer program using said semantic model.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides a high level illustration of some major components whichmight be present in some embodiments.

FIG. 2 provides an illustration of a conceptual architecture of an SCSwhich might be implemented in some embodiments.

FIG. 3 provides an illustration of a conceptual architecture of anAssisted Care System (ACS) which might be implemented in someembodiments.

FIG. 4 provides an illustration of a conceptual architecture of afeedback system which might be implemented in some embodiments.

FIG. 5 shows a combination of two data records which might take place insome embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a table which shows a format in which disposition informationand relative desirability might be stored in some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a table which shows potential data which might have beencollected about the processing of 1,200 calls in some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a table which shows potential data which might have beencollected about the processing of 2,400 calls in some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a table which shows potential data which might have beencollected about the processing of 1,200 calls in some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a potential method which could be used insome embodiments to update statistical language models.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a potential method which could be used insome embodiments to update semantic classification models.

FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a simplified design model which might beimplemented in some embodiments.

FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a simplified design model which might beimplemented in some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

All embodiments described herein are intended to be illustrative and,therefore, non-limiting.

Some embodiments might include one or more of the major componentsdepicted in FIG. 1. In embodiments following FIG. 1, an interactionbetween a customer [100] and an SCS [101] might be initiated by acustomer [100] contacting the SCS [101] over a network [105], whichmight be any type of network capable of transmitting call audioinformation, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or abroadband voice over IP (VoIP) network. Once the call had been received,the SCS [101] might play some prompt, such as “How may I help you?”which would be transferred back over the network [105] to the customer[100]. In determining how to respond to the customer's statement, insome embodiments, an SCS [101] might request data from some externalsystem, referred to in FIG. 1 as an enterprise system [104].Additionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the SCS[101] might have the capacity to transfer the customer call to an ACS[102]. Finally, in some embodiments, when the customer call isterminated, a feedback system [103], which could be a set of softwareroutines and their associated hardware designed to improve theperformance of an SCS, might be able to update the SCS [101] so that theSCS [101] might be able to better respond to customer statements in thefuture.

FIG. 2 expands on FIG. 1 and focuses particularly on a conceptualarchitecture for an SCS [101] which might be realized in someembodiments. For the sake of easy understanding, numbering is consistentthroughout all figures. In the diagram of FIG. 2, in addition to theboxes representing subcomponents of an SCS [101], there are also labeledarrows which describe types of data which might be passed betweencomponents in some embodiments. It should be understood, however, thatthe diagram of FIG. 2 is intended to be illustrative only of aparticular type of conceptual architecture which might be implemented inan SCS [101], and therefore is not intended to be limiting of thecomponents which might be present in all embodiments.

It should further be understood that, while certain data transfers aredepicted using arrows in FIG. 2, those arrows do not necessarily depictall data transfers which might take place in an embodiment following theconceptual architecture of FIG. 2. For example, some embodimentsfollowing the architecture of FIG. 2 might have an SCS [101] whichincludes a set of software routines specialized for gathering datarelated to the processing of a customer call by an SCS [101](hereinafter collectively referred to as an Automated Session Agent(ASA) [208]). In some embodiments, regardless of the fact that there areno arrows showing data being transmitted to an ASA [208], an ASA [208]might collect data related to the processing of a customer call, perhapsby monitoring data transmissions between other components, perhaps bymeans of discrete data transmissions from other components, or perhapsby some other means, depending on the specifics of a particularembodiment. Further, even though FIG. 2 only shows an arrow from the ASA[208] leading to a Feedback System [103], in various embodiments an ASA[208] might communicate information to other components as well. Forexample, in some embodiments, an ASA [208] might transfer contextinformation, that is, data related to the processing of a customer callby an SCS [101] which might include data related to the customer himselfor herself, to other components of the SCS [101], either on request orautomatically in response to certain triggers. Further, variousembodiments might have different sets of information included in thecontext information maintained and transmitted by an ACA. For example,in some embodiments, context information might include outputs fromvarious other components of the SCS [101], data received from anenterprise system [104], the duration of the customer interaction, andcustomer information such as the customer's name, emotional state,account information, lifetime value, previous interactions, telephonenumber, etc. Other embodiments might maintain context information whichcontains only some of the above data, or might maintain contextinformation which contains different data entirely. Thus, while FIG. 2is intended to provide an illustrative example of a potential conceptualarchitecture which might be realized in some embodiments, it is notintended to be limiting on the scope of the invention.

In embodiments which follow FIG. 2, an SCS [101] might include a networkinterface [201] which might be configured to receive information, suchas speech, from a network [105]. Once the network interface [201]receives information, it might transfer any speech information toAutomatic Speech Recognition software [202] (hereinafter, referred toeither as ASR software, or simply as an ASR), which is computer softwareconfigured to translate audio input comprising a natural languagestatement into an alternate format, such as text. The ASR [202] mightcreate a textual representation of the information transferred to itusing a statistical model which calculates the probability that, giventhe context of an interaction, a phrase made up of one or more wordswill be spoken by a customer. For the sake of convenience, such modelswill be referred to throughout this application as Statistical LanguageModels (SLMs). In some embodiments, the ASR [202] might additionallyproduce a confidence level, which may be alphanumeric although otherschemata are possible. The confidence level may indicate the probabilitythat each word in the textual representation accurately reflects thecontent of the call audio received by the network interface [201]. Oncethe ASR [202] has finished processing, it might send data such as itstextual representation of call audio, either with or without theassociated confidence level, to a NLU unit (referred to throughout theapplication as either an NLU unit or simply as an NLU) [203]. The NLU[203] might then attempt to classify the text provided by the ASR [202]into one of a set of predefined values, such as “Printer Problem,”through the use of a semantic classification model (SCM), a techniquewhich is well known to one of ordinary skill in the art. In someembodiments, in addition to classifying text provided by an ASR [202],an NLU [203] might also provide a confidence level, which might indicatethe probability that the NLU's classification is correct.

In some embodiments, once a classification has been made by an NLU[203], that classification, either with or without an associatedconfidence level, might be forwarded to a set of software routinesspecialized to coordinate the components of the SCS [101] with eachother, an ACS [102], the customer [100], the network [105], enterprisesystems [104], and the feedback system [103]. For the sake ofconvenience, such specialized software routines will be referred tocollectively as an Automated Care Agent (ACA) [206]. In someembodiments, an ACA [206] might be implemented in a computer languagesuch as C++, Java, or VXML.

In some embodiments, an ACA [206], might be designed as a set ofactions, that is computer executable commands or functions andtransitions, that is, triggers which lead to the execution of a newaction. As an example of such a design, consider the diagram of FIG.12A. In an embodiment following FIG. 12A, when a call is initiallyreceived by an SCS [101], the ACA [206] might be programmed to executethe action of playing a prompt [1200]. After that action was complete,the ACA might automatically transition to the next action of getting astatement from the customer [1201]. In such a case, the trigger formoving between the second and third actions is the completion of thesecond action. After the ASR had transcribed the customer statement, anACA following the diagram of FIG. 12A might automatically transition tothe action of sending the transcription to the NLU [1203]. Once the NLUwas finished processing the statement, an ACA following the diagram ofFIG. 12A might face a choice: if the NLU understood the transcription,the ACA might order a service ordered by the customer [1204]; if the NLUdid not understand the transcription, the ACA might play a prompt askingthe customer to repeat his or her statement [1205].

It should be understood that the above example of actions andtransitions based on FIG. 12A is a simplified overview designed toillustrate an ACA design which might be utilized in some embodiments. Itshould further be understood that various embodiments might differ fromthe simplified example based on FIG. 12A in any number of particulars.For example, an embodiment might include a greater number of actions,such as requesting that an Enterprise System provide an account balanceor adjust a bill; or redirecting a customer interaction, perhaps byrouting the customer call to an ACS. Various embodiments might alsoinclude a greater number of transitions, or even be designed in such away that certain actions are configured to transition back tothemselves, that is, to loop, as can be seen in the diagram of FIG. 12B.Further, in some embodiments, there might be both actions which arecomposite, that is, composed of other actions, and actions which areatomic, that is, not composed of other actions. For example, someembodiments might include a composite action of “get customer input,”which might be composed of the constituent atomic actions of “get audiodata from the network,” and “send audio data to the ASR.” Additionally,some embodiments might include actions which are synchronous, that is,which prevent other actions from being taken while they are beingprocessed, and actions which are asynchronous, that is, which can beprocessed concurrently with other actions. Further, some embodimentsmight include an ACA [206] which is based on a different model entirely.For example, in some embodiments in which an ACA [206] is utilized in anIVR System, rather than being implemented as a set of actions andtransitions, the ACA might be implemented as a set of algorithms whichinvokes, and controls the inputs to and outputs from, other componentsof the SCS [101]. For the sake of convenience, such an embodiment willbe referred to as having an ACA which determines a route through theIVR, though it should be understood that the discussion throughout theapplication which refers to ACAs using actions is equally applicable toACAs which determine a route through an IVR.

Returning to the diagram of FIG. 2, in addition to the componentsdescribed above, some embodiments might include software routinesspecialized to assist an ACA [206] in making decisions between options,which are methods of processing a customer call or coordinatingcomponents of an SCS and other systems, such as actions or routesthrough an IVR. For the sake of convenience, in embodiments in whichthey are present, such specialized software routines will be referred toas a Decisioning Agent (DA) [207]. In some embodiments, an ACA [206]might request a recommendation from a DA [207] whenever the ACA [206]needed to transition from one action to another, or whenever the SCS[101] received additional data, either from the customer [100], anenterprise system [104], or from some other source. Alternatively, insome embodiments, an ACA [206] might only request a recommendation froma DA [207] in certain situations. For example, some embodiments might beconfigured such that some transitions are controlled by well definedrules, while other transitions are uncertain, and require arecommendation from the DA [207]. An example of such an embodiment mightbe one where the ACA [206] is configured to automatically respond if theNLU [203] provides an understanding of a customer statement with aconfidence level greater than a set threshold (say, 95% certainty),while the ACA [206] might request a recommendation from the DA [207] ifthe confidence level provided by the NLU [203] is below the threshold.

In embodiments in which a DA [207] is present, the DA [207] might usevarious methods for determining what action from a set of actions torecommend. For example, in some embodiments, a DA [207] might makedecisions as to what action to take, or route to recommend, usingpredictive modeling which would indicate the desirability of likelyoutcomes of various actions or routes. In some embodiments in which a DA[207] utilizes predictive modeling when making recommendations, the DA[207] might be configured with information regarding potentialdispositions, or outcomes, of a customer interaction. Such dispositionsmight include call outcomes such as the customer abandoned the call, thecustomer purchased a service, or the customer had his or her questionanswered after the call had gone on for a certain length of time. The DA[207] might also be configured with information related to thedesirability of certain dispositions, and it might further be configuredto dynamically keep track of certain information, such as the length ofthe phone call (also known as call hold time), in order to help measuresystem performance or determine the likelihood of certain dispositions.In some embodiments in which a DA [207] includes information aboutdispositions and their desirability, and uses predictive modeling tomake recommendations regarding actions, the predictive models used bythe DA [207] might be based on conditional probabilities. For example,in order to determine whether to take a specific action, in someembodiments, a DA [207] might assign an expectation score to eachdisposition by multiplying the conditional probability that the givenaction would result in that disposition occurring, given informationsuch as the context information gathered by the ASA [208], informationmaintained by the DA [207], and other information relevant to thecustomer interaction, by the desirability associated with thatdisposition. The DA [207] might then create a similar expectation scorefor each disposition, and might combine those scores into a final score,called an alignment, for an action. The DA [207] might create a similaralignment for each action, and recommend the action whose associatedalignment was greatest. Such a calculation, which might be undertaken insome embodiments, could be represented as follows: $\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{Action} = {\max({Action})}} \\\left\{ {{Alignment} \equiv {\sum\limits_{Disposition}{P\left( {\left. {Disposition} \middle| {Action} \right.,} \right.}}} \right. \\\left. {\left. {{Integration}\quad{Context}} \right) \cdot {{GoalValue}({Disposition})}} \right\}\end{matrix} & {{Function}\quad 1}\end{matrix}$where P(Disposition|Action, InteractionContext) is the conditionalprobability that Disposition will result from Action givenInteractionContext, GoalValue(Disposition) a numeric value indicatingthe desirability of Disposition and Alignment is the final scoreassigned to a particular action.

In addition to having various methods of determining what actions from aset of actions to recommend, different embodiments might also havedifferent methods of determining a set of actions that the DA [207]evaluates. For example, in some embodiments, when an ACA [206] makes arequest of a DA [207], the ACA [206] might send the DA [207] a list ofactions for the DA [207] to choose from. Alternatively, some embodimentsmight be implemented such that the DA [207] determines a set of actionsto choose between based on context information about the customer call.In some embodiments, there might be some situations where an ACA [206]sends a list of actions to a DA [207], while in other situations the DA[207] is required to independently determine potential actions to judge.

Various implementations might also differ from one another in thesources and nature of the information used by the DA [207]. For example,in addition to the factors set forth above, some embodiments might bedesigned to allow a DA to take information such as a measurement of thecaller's emotional state, the number of times a caller has been askedfor information to clarify an earlier response (referred to asreprompts), or various utterance keywords, that is words with particularsignificance, detected in a customer statement. In some embodiments,this might entail making alterations in other components of an SCS [101]in order to facilitate processing by a DA [207]. For example, in someembodiments, an ASA [208] might be specially configured to be able tomeasure the caller's emotional state, and to communicate thatinformation to the DA [207] as a portion of the call's contextinformation. It should also be understood that additional methods ofmaking determinations by a DA [207] will be apparent to one of ordinaryskill in the art, and that the use of such additional methods is notinconsistent with the scope and spirit of the invention. It should beunderstood that the above description focused on a DA [207] whichrecommends an action which might be taken by an ACA [206], but that a DA[207] could use the same techniques (i.e., predictive modeling, etc . .. ) to recommend routes through an IVR, or for other methods of makingdeterminations to be carried out by the ACA [206].

Once the determination of the correct action had been made, either bythe DA [207], the ACA [206], or some other component, the ACA [206]might implement that action, perhaps by sending a text stringrepresenting a prompt to be played to a Text To Speech (TTS) system[204]. Depending on the action implemented, the customer [100] mightmake another statement which the SCS [101] could analyze, repeating theabove described process until either the call reached disposition, orthe SCS [206] transferred the call, either to an ACS [207] or to someother system.

In some embodiments, once the SCS [101] completes its processing of thecall, either because the call is transferred or for some other reason, acomponent of the SCS [101], for example, the ASA [208] might assemble aset of information related to the customer's completed interaction withthe SCS [101]. For the sake of convenience, in embodiments where suchinteraction records are created, they will be referred to as AutomatedInteractive Session Detail Records (AISDRs). In some embodiments, anAISDR might include information describing the session, informationdescribing the interaction with the customer [100], or both. Inembodiments in which an AISDR includes information describing a session,that information might include one or more of: a session identifier; thesession type, which might be “automatic” for a session conducted by anSCS [101]; the date and time of the session's start; the date and timeof the session's conclusion; the session's duration; and/or thesession's disposition, which in some embodiments might be automaticallydetermined by the ASA [208]. In embodiments in which an AISDR includesinformation describing interaction with the customer, that informationmight include one or more of: actions performed by an ACA [206]; inputsfrom the customer, such as speech or signals generated by buttons on atouch tone phone; the data produced by the ASR [202] and/or NLU [203];data sent from enterprise systems [104] through the data interface[205]; and/or customer information such as name, account number,customer lifetime value, the customer's previous contact history, thecustomer's emotional state, the customer's telephone number, and othersimilar information.

It should be understood that the above discussion of an SCS [101] asdepicted in FIG. 2 is not intended as an exhaustive discussion of allpossible embodiments, and numerous modifications and/or additions to theabove discussion and diagram of FIG. 2 will be immediately apparent toone of skill in the art. For example, in some embodiments, an ASA [208]might store, or even collect, information in addition to the datatransmitted between components shown in FIG. 2. Thus, in someembodiments, an ASA [208] might respond to a call arriving at an SCS[101] by collecting data about the customer [100], perhaps including thecustomer's name, a customer ID, the customer's telephone number, orother information, some of which might be stored on enterprise systems[104] outside the SCS [101], which the ASA [208] might access throughmeans of an external data interface [205]. Additionally, in variousembodiments, the ACA [206], the DA [207], or other components of the SCS[101] might contact enterprise systems [104] though a data interface[205], and/or the ASA [208], as needed in order to obtain informationfor decision-making purposes. Additionally, in some embodiments, thefunctionality of various components of the SCS [101] might be combined.For example, in some embodiments, the functionality of the ACA [206] andthe DA [207] might be combined into a single component which coordinatedall interaction within the SCS [101] and was capable of making decisionsas to actions to take or routes to follow. Thus, the above discussion isintended to be illustrative only, and not to be limiting.

Returning to the high level architecture of FIG. 1, in some embodiments,an SCS [101] might be configured to be able to transfer a call to an ACS[102]. In some embodiments, when a call is transferred from an SCS [101]to an ACS [102], some or all of the information contained in the AISDR,or the AISDR itself, might be transferred to the ACS [102] as well. Toillustrate how a customer interaction might be processed in an ACS[102], either with or without an associated AISDR, consider the diagramof FIG. 3, which presents a potential conceptual architecture for an ACS[102].

In some embodiments which follow FIG. 3, when a call arrives at an ACS[102], an automated session popup [301] or other display might appear ona computer terminal being monitored by a human agent, such as a customerservice representative. For the sake of convenience, the computerhardware and software which an individual agent uses to process acustomer call will be referred to collectively as an agent terminal. Insome embodiments, the automated session popup [301] might contain asummary of the automated session which took place at the SCS [101]. Insome embodiments, a summary provided by the automated session popup[301] might contain information such as a transcription of thecustomer's speech, provided by the ASR component of the SCS [101], thereason for the call as determined by the NLU unit in the SCS [101],and/or information about the customer, which might be culled from anAISDR provided when the call was transferred from the SCS [101] to theACS [102]. Regardless of the contents or existence of a summary provideby the automated session popup [301], the ACS [102] would process thecustomer through a human agent, who would interact with the customerthrough an assisted care user interface [302].

In some embodiments, while the interaction between the human agent andthe customer was taking place, software routines similar to the ACA[208] from FIG. 2, which will be referred to collectively as a livesession agent (LSA) [303], might gather information summarizing theprocessing that takes place in the ACS [102]. In some embodiments, thatinformation might be compiled into a Live Interactive Session DetailRecord (LISDR) which might contain information describing the sessionand/or information describing the disposition of the customer call. Inembodiments where an LISDR contains information describing the session,that information might include one or more of: a session identifier; atype identifier, which might be “live” in some embodiments for sessionsprocessed by an ACS [102]; a short indication of the disposition of thecall (which might be determined either by the agent processing thecustomer call, or by the LSA automatically); and/or a listing of actionsperformed while the call was being processed by the ACS [102]. In someembodiments where an LISDR contains information describing thedisposition of the customer call, that information might include one ormore of: an indication of the level of customer satisfaction with thecall; and/or information as to whether or not the call was transferredcorrectly by the SCS [101]. In some embodiments, an LISDR might alsoinclude an indication of the agent's determination of how satisfied thecustomer was with the interaction, referred to as a customersatisfaction level. In some embodiments in which both an LISDR and anAISDR are compiled, and both the LISDR and AISDR include a sessionidentification, the session identification in both the LISDR and AISDRmight be coordinated, and might later be used to correlate an ACSsession described in an LISDR with the appropriate SCS session describedin an AISDR.

In some embodiments, even after a call has reached disposition, furtherprocessing might take place, which might have the effect of improvingthe performance of an SCS. To discuss one type of processing which mighttake place after a call had reached disposition, consider the diagram ofFIG. 4, which illustrates a potential architecture for a feedback systemwhich might be implemented in some embodiments.

In some embodiments following the architecture of FIG. 4, once a callhas reached disposition, an SCS [101] and/or an ACS [102] might transferinformation describing their interactions with the customer to thefeedback system [103]. In some embodiments, that information might becontained in an LISDR, an AISDR or both. In some embodiments, thefeedback system [103] might include one or more software routinesspecialized to assemble and store data related to call processingundertaken by an SCS [101] and/or an ACS [102]. For the sake ofconvenience, such software routines will be referred to collectively asin interactive session repository (ISR) [403]. In embodiments containingan ISR [403], the ISR [403] might be designed such that, when a call wasprocessed by both an SCS [101] which produces an AISDR and an ACS [102]which produces an LISDR, the ISR [403] might use the sessionidentifications on the LISDR and AISDR to combine the two data recordsinto a Closed Loop Interaction Data Record (CLIDR), as shown in FIG. 5.In some embodiments, after correlating the data provided by the SCS[101] and ACS [102], the ISR [403] might store the correlated data forlater use, perhaps by other components of the feedback system [103].

One potential use for the data stored in the ISR [403] is updatingand/or generating of the models used in the SCS, which might be done bya set of specialized software routines which perform statisticalcorrelations and calculations, which, for the sake of convenience, willbe referred to collectively as a model updater (MU) [404]. For the sakeof convenience, the data created by such a MU [404] for the purpose ofupdating a model used by a component of an SCS [101] will be referred toas a model update. In some embodiments, the MU [404] might generate newmodels or model updates by organizing the data collected by the ISR[403] into different groups based on context information, thenorganizing each of those context groups according to recommendationswhich might be made by a DA, and then organizing each of thoserecommendation groups based on call disposition, and finally using thatorganization of raw data to determine a conditional probability of aparticular recommendation resulting in a certain disposition given acall context.

Of course, it should be understood that, while an MU [404] might employdifferent algorithms for generating models updates and for generatingnew models, in some embodiments, the model updates generated by an MU[404] might be new models based on models already being used by acomponent in an SCS [101]. In such an embodiment, the model updatesmight improve the performance of the SCS [101] by simply replacing themodels currently being used by the SCS [101], rather than by modifyingthem only. Thus, the above linguistic distinction between model updatesand the generation of new models should be understood as one made forthe sake of convenience only, and not read to imply that model updatesmust necessarily be distinct from new models.

Additionally, in some embodiments, data stored in the ISR [403] might beused to update/generate semantic classification models which can be usedin an NLU within an SCS [101]. For example, consider an embodiment whichincludes a CLIDR stored in an ISR [403] comprising a semanticclassification made by an NLU within an SCS [101], a textual renditionof the caller's statement provided by an ASR within an SCS [101], and acorrect semantic classification provided by a human after the call hadbeen transferred to an ACS [102]. In such an embodiment, if the humanwithin the ACS [102] and the NLU within the SCS [101] had come todifferent conclusions about the correct classification of the caller'sstatements, the semantic probability models used by the NLU within theSCS [101] could be updated by correlating the text of the caller'sstatements with the correct classification as provided by the humanwithin the ACS [102]. In this way, some embodiments might provide foradjusting semantic classification models used by an NLU within an SCS[101] in an automatic, closed loop manner.

Additionally, in some embodiments, data stored in the ISR [403] might beused to update/generate statistical language models which can be used inan ASR within an SCS [101]. For example, consider the embodiment of theprevious example, which included a CLIDR stored in an ISR [403]comprising a semantic classification made by an NLU within an SCS [101],a textual rendition of the caller's statement provided by an ASR withinan SCS [101], and a correct semantic classification provided by a humanafter the call had been transferred to an ACS [102]. In such anembodiment, in addition to updating the semantic classification modelswithin the NLU, an SLM utilized by an ASR could be updated by analyzingthe words and phrases which make up textual renditions of callerstatements and modifying the SLM based on the measurements of the wordsand phrases in the CLIDR. In this way, some embodiments might providefor adjusting SLMs utilized by ASRs within an SCS [101] in an automatic,closed loop manner.

In some embodiments, when an MU [404] updates a model, that model mightbe stored by a set of specialized software routines which archiveprobability models. For the sake of convenience, such specializedsoftware routines will be referred to collectively as a model repository(MR) [405]. In some embodiments, an MR [405] might contain an archive ofpast models, as well as any new models and/or model updates provided byan MU [404].

In some embodiments, when an MU [404] creates a model update, thatupdate might be communicated to an SCS [101] and might be incorporatedinto the SCS [101] immediately as it is created (i.e., in real time).Alternatively, in some embodiments, instead of communicating updates toan SCS [101] in real time, an MU [404] might communicate with an SCS[101] only in response to certain triggers, that is, in response to thefulfillment of a set of conditions. In some embodiments, such triggersmight be time based, that is, a feedback system [103] might beconfigured to provide scheduled updates to an SCS [101]. In someembodiments, triggers for the MU [404] might be based on usagemilestones, e.g., an MU [404] might send an update to an SCS [101] iften new CLIDRs are created within a two minute period. In someembodiments, multiple types of triggers might be present, for example, afeedback system [103] might be configured to provide scheduled updatesto an SCS [101], and to provide unscheduled updates if certain usagemilestones are met.

In some embodiments, in addition to components to update models used inan SCS, a feedback system [103] might also include data related to thedesirability of certain call dispositions, and/or means of creatingand/or modifying that data. In some embodiments, there might be softwareroutines specialized for creating and/or modifying data related to thedesirability of certain dispositions, which will be referred tocollectively, along with any associated hardware, as a Goal Updater (GU)[401]. In some embodiments, the GU [401] might allow a human agent,referred to as a Goal Administrator (GA) [406] to specify certain goals,such as “Minimize Call Hold Time,” and then assign values, which mightbe alphanumeric, to dispositions indicating their desirability vis-à-visthe defined goals. For example, for the goal “Minimize Call Hold Time,”the goal administrator might assign a goal value of 10 for a call whichlasts less than one minute, a goal value of 5 for calls which lastbetween one and two minutes, and a goal value of −10 for calls lastinglonger than two minutes. In some embodiments, rather than having goalsand dispositions, a feedback system might have only dispositions, whichmight be defined by the GA [406]. In some such embodiments, thedispositions and their corresponding values indicating desirabilitymight be stored using a table representation, as shown in FIG. 6.

In some embodiments, when a GA [406] has utilized a GU [401] to createand/or modify goals, dispositions or their associated preference values,the updated information might be stored by a set of software routinesspecialized to store dispositions, goals and preference values. For thesake of convenience, in embodiments where such routines are present,they will be referred to collectively as a goal repository (GR) [402].In some embodiments, in addition to storing updated information providedby a GU [401] a GR [402] might also archive past goals, dispositions,and numeric preference values.

In some embodiments, a human administrator such as the GA [406] mighthave responsibilities beyond those related to updating and modifyinggoals, dispositions and numeric preference values. For example, in someembodiments where model updates created by an MU [404] are provided by afeedback system [103] to an SCS [101] in response to triggers, theupdate triggers might be defined by a GA [406]. Indeed, in someembodiments, a GA [406] might be responsible only for defining triggers,and not be responsible for updating and/or creating goals, dispositionsand preference values.

The foregoing should be considered as illustrative only of certainembodiments, and that numerous modifications will be readily apparent toone or ordinary skill in the art. For example, some embodiments mighthave multiple GAs with each GA having responsibility for a specializedtask. Further, modifications to the conceptual architectures discussedabove will be readily apparent to one of skill in the art. For instance,different embodiments might have diverged from the discussion above inthe specifics of the types of data communicated between components, orthe paths which data travels, both within and between components of anembodiment. For example, in some embodiments, information related todispositions and their desirability might be stored in the DA [207] inaddition to, or as an alternative to, being stored in a GR [402]. Itshould be understood that various data storage and redundancy schemeswill be immediately apparent to one of skill in the art and are toonumerous to catalog with any thoroughness. Thus, the foregoing should beconsidered illustrative only, and should not be treated as an exhaustivelisting of the embodiments of the invention.

In order to examine the processes of utilizing prediction models, and ofcreating new prediction models, SLMs, and semantic classification modelswhich might take place in some embodiments, it will be helpful toconsider a simple embodiment which has certain characteristics. Pleasenote that this embodiment is provided for, primarily, illustrativepurposes and should not be considered limiting against other embodimentsof the invention. First, the simple embodiment should utilize arelatively simple probability model, so that the use of that model andthe updating processes can be easily followed, and expressed on paper.Second, the simple embodiment should store only minimal contextinformation, which will allow updates based on that context informationto be expressed simply. Third, the simple embodiment should be concernedwith only a simple task, so that a representative discussion of callflows does not mushroom beyond the bounds of being easily expressed.Fourth, the simple embodiment should only recognize a few dispositionstates, so that the process of determining the most desirable andprobable disposition state for a given action does not becomeimpractical to set down on paper. One such simple embodiment mightcomprise an SCS which provides a natural language based call routingfunction, discussed below.

In embodiments in which an SCS provides a natural language-based callrouting function, when a caller is connected to the SCS, the callermight be greeted with a voice prompt, such as “How may I help you?” Thecaller then might make a statement that describes the reason for his orher call. An SCS might then determine whether to transfer the call to anACS, or to play another prompt for the caller. If the SCS transfers thecall to an ACS, the SCS might also determine to which ACS, or agentgroup, the call should be transferred, depending on the embodiment. Inan embodiment where an SCS provides natural language based call routing,the SCS's interaction with the call ends either when the SCS transfersthe call, or the call is abandoned. Thus, a simple embodiment in whichan SCS provides a natural language based routing function, there mightbe only two possible actions: to transfer the caller or play a prompt,and there might be only five dispositions: the call might be abandoned;the call being correctly transferred with the caller being satisfied;the call being correctly transferred with the caller being unsatisfied;the call being incorrectly transferred with the caller being satisfied;or the call being incorrectly transferred with the caller beingunsatisfied. Further, the preference values assigned to thosedisposition states might be set as shown in the table of FIG. 6.

In such a simple embodiment, where there are only two possible actionsand five possible dispositions as set forth in FIG. 6, a DA mightdetermine which action to take by calculating the alignment of each ofthe two actions, and then recommending the action with the highestalignment. This might be done by applying Function 1 to the availableactions, and making the simplifying assumption that the probability of acompound disposition, such as a caller being properly transferred andsatisfied, can be obtained by multiplying the probability that a callerwill be satisfied given that he or she was properly transferred by theprobability that the caller was properly transferred given theconfidence level provided by the NLU. Thus, some embodiments might makethe determination of whether to transfer or prompt a caller byevaluating the following equations: $\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{{Alignment}(T)} = {{10\quad{P\left( {\left. S \middle| C \right.,N} \right)}{P\left( C \middle| {CL} \right)}} +}} \\{{5\quad P\left( {\left. U \middle| C \right.,N} \right){P\left( C \middle| {CL} \right)}} +} \\{{5\quad{P\left( {\left. S \middle| I \right.,N} \right)}{P\left( I \middle| {CL} \right)}} -} \\{15\quad{P\left( {\left. U \middle| I \right.,N} \right)}\quad{P\left( I \middle| {CL} \right)}}\end{matrix} & {{Equation}\quad 1} \\\begin{matrix}{{{Alignment}(P)} = {{10\quad{P\left( {\left. {CS} \middle| P \right.,N,{CL}} \right)}} +}} \\{{5\quad{P\left( {\left. {CU} \middle| P \right.,N,{CL}} \right)}} +} \\{{5\quad P\left( {\left. {IS} \middle| P \right.,N,{CL}} \right)} -} \\{15\quad{P\left( {\left. {IU} \middle| P \right.,N,{CL}} \right)}}\end{matrix} & {{Equation}\quad 2}\end{matrix}$where N is the number of prompts which have been played for the caller,CL is the confidence level assigned to a statement classification by theNLU, S is the result of the caller being satisfied, C is the result ofthe caller being correctly transferred, U is the result of the callerbeing unsatisfied, and I is the result of the caller being incorrectlytransferred. Using the above equations, and the simplifying assumptionthat the probability that a caller was correctly transferred given theconfidence level provided by the NLU is equal to the confidence levelprovided by the NLU, the data from FIG. 7 can be substituted intoequations 1 and 2 to give the following results: $\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{{Alignment}(T)} = {{10 \times 1.0000 \times 0.9000} +}} \\{{5 \times 0.000 \times {.9000}} +} \\{{5 \times 0.000 \times 0.1000} -} \\{15 \times {1 \cdot 000} \times 0.1000} \\{= 7.5000} \\{{{Alignment}(P)} = {{10 \times 0.6924} + {5 \times 0.1835} +}} \\{{5 \times 0.0038} - {15 \times 0.00494}} \\{= 7.1195}\end{matrix} & {{Calculation}\quad 1}\end{matrix}$

Based on those results, the DA would recommend the action oftransferring the caller, because the alignment score for transferringthe caller (7.5000) was greater than the alignment score for promptingthe caller (7.1195). This demonstrates how some embodiments might usepredictive modeling to determine an appropriate action.

In order to understand how predictive models might be updated, assumethat an embodiment following the above discussion has processed anadditional 1,200 calls and that the data for the original 1,200 callsfrom FIG. 7, and the subsequent 1,200 calls is as shown in the table ofFIG. 8. In order to update the statistical models used in a DA, an MUmight recalculate the values of the probabilities that variousdispositions would result from particular actions being taken indifferent contexts. The MU might further communicate those updatedprobabilities to a DA for use when processing customer calls. Thus, insome embodiments, the MU might have provided a DA new values for numericsubstitutions, so that, based on the substitutions into the equations 1and 2, the following calculations would occur: $\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{{Alignment}(T)} = {{10 \times 1.0000 \times 0.9000} +}} \\{{5 \times 0 \times {.9000}} + {5 \times 0.000 \times 0.1000} -} \\{15 \times {1 \cdot 000} \times 0.1000} \\{= 7.5000} \\{{{Alignment}(P)} = {{10 \times 0.7257} + {5 \times 0.1720} +}} \\{{5 \times 0.0050} - {15 \times 0.0419}} \\{= 7.5335}\end{matrix} & {{Calculation}\quad 2}\end{matrix}$

The DA would then instruction the ACA to play an additional prompt forthe caller, since the alignment for prompting the caller (7.5335) isgreater than the alignment for transferring the caller (7.5000). Thisexample shows how a simple embodiment might update the predictive modelsof the DA based on collected call data in a closed loop fashion withoutintervention from a system administrator.

While the above examples used the simplifying assumption that theprobability of a caller being correctly transferred given a confidencelevel provided by an NLU is equal to the confidence level provided bythe NLU, it is also possible to relax that assumption and calculate theprobability of a caller being correctly transferred given a confidencelevel provided by an NLU based on historical data. In some embodiments,such a calculation might be based on the data of the table depicted inFIG. 9. In that table, the numbers in the CL column represent ranges ofNLU Confidence Levels. For example, the first row (CL=(0.99,1.00])applies for N=1, and NLU confidence levels that are greater than 0.99but less than or equal to 1.00, while the second row (CL=(0.98,0.99))applies for N=1 and NLU confidence levels that are greater than 0.98 butless than 0.99. Thus, the table of FIG. 9 expands on the table of FIG. 7because the table of FIG. 9 includes 100 rows (one for each range ofconfidence level) for each number of prompts played, while the table ofFIG. 7 only had one row per number of prompts.

To demonstrate the use of the data from the table of FIG. 9, consider ascenario in which, after a customer responds to an initial prompt, anNLU provides a classification with a confidence level of 0.9831. In someembodiments, this might result in an ACA requesting that a DA decidewhether to transfer the caller or play another prompt. The DA might thenconsult predictive models based on the data from the table of FIG. 9 andmake the following calculations: $\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{{Alignment}(T)} = {{10 \times 0.9574} + {5 \times 0.000} +}} \\{{5 \times 0.000} - {15 \times 0.0426}} \\{= 10.2130} \\{{{Alignment}(P)} = {{10 \times 0.6924} + {5 \times 0.1835} +}} \\{{5 \times 0.0038} - {15 \times 0.0494}} \\{= 7.1195}\end{matrix} & {{Calculation}\quad 3}\end{matrix}$

Thus, the DA would instruct the ACA to take the action of transferringthe caller, since the alignment score for that action (10.2130) ishigher than the alignment score for the action of playing an additionalprompt (7.1195).

It should be understood that, while the above examples presented the useof simplifying assumptions separately from calculations based purely onhistorical data, some embodiments might use both types of calculations.For example, some embodiments might be configured to initially use thesimplifying assumption that the probability that a caller is correctlytransferred given the confidence level provided by the NLU is equal tothe confidence level provided by the NLU, but to switch to a calculationbased on purely historical data once sufficient calls had been processedfor the determination based purely on historical data to be meaningful.Further, it should be understood that the above examples are notintended to be exhaustive descriptions of the particulars of utilizingand updating predictive models, and that various embodiments might usedifferent predictive models, might use predictive models in which theparameters such as the ranges of confidence levels vary, or may usemodels in which parameters of data collected or the models themselvesare user defined. Since these and other modifications will beimmediately apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, the aboveexamples should be treated as illustrative only, and not limiting on thescope of the invention.

While the above examples demonstrated the use of historical data toupdate predictive models used by a DA, some embodiments might also beconfigured to update SLMs which could be used by an ASR. To illustratethis process, consider FIG. 10, which shows a sequence of actions whichmight take place to update an SLM in some embodiments. In someembodiments following FIG. 10, when a customer made a statement, thatstatement would initially be captured [1001] and transferred to an ASR,which would automatically transcribe the statement [1002]. After thestatement had been transcribed, it would be associated with context datafrom the call [1003], perhaps by an ASA or some other component of anSCS [101]. The text generated by the ASR and the call context data wouldthen be combined into an AISDR [1004] which might be sent to a feedbacksystem [103]. The feedback system [103] might then merge the AISDR withan associated LISDR to create a CLISDR [1005]. That CLISDR might then beprocessed using a computer program to generate a new or updated SLM[1006]. The feedback system [103] might then automatically update theSCS [101] using that new or updated SLM [1007].

Similarly, FIG. 11 shows a method for automating the process of updatingSCMs which might be incorporated into some embodiments of the invention.In FIG. 11, the process of updating SCMs starts with the capture of callaudio data [1101], and proceeds with the automatic transcription of thatdata [1102]. After the data is transcribed, the process of FIG. 11automatically classifies the utterances [1103] within the SCS [101], andadds the classification and the data to an AISDR [1104]. If necessary,an embodiment following FIG. 11 might also append a human derivedclassification to an LISDR [1105], and then both the LISDR and AISDR areused to generate a CLISDR [106]. Then, in some embodiments followingFIG. 11, the CLISDR might be used in the automatic generation of SCMs[1107] and those automatically generated SCMs might then be used in theautomatic updating of one or more NLUs [1108].

Of course, it should be understood that the above examples are intendedto be illustrative only, and that many variations and alterations willbe immediately obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. For example,the process of FIG. 11 might be altered by retaining the automaticclassification of utterances, but combining that with the step ofcreating a corpus of thousands of utterances prior to generating updatedSCMs. Thus all illustrative examples should be considered to beillustrative and not limiting on the scope of the invention.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous changes and modifications willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or modificationsin operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within thescope of the invention.

1. A system comprising: a) a computer memory containing one or moremodels utilized to process a customer interaction, said customerinteraction comprising: i) one or more statements made by a customer;ii) one or more prompts played for said customer; b) a set of computerexecutable instructions configured to: i) coordinate processing of thecustomer interaction; ii) maintain a set of context information relatedto said customer interaction; iii) create a data record comprisinginformation related to said customer interaction; iv) store informationfrom said data record in said computer memory; v) utilize informationstored in said computer memory to automatically create one or more modelupdates; vi) automatically update one or more of said models using oneor more of said model updates.
 2. The system of claim 1 furthercomprising: an agent terminal operable to allow an agent to process saidcustomer interaction; wherein said customer interaction furthercomprises one or more statements made by the agent to the customer; andwherein said set of computer executable instruction is furtherconfigured to: a) create a second data record; b) determine if said datarecord and said second data record contain information relating to thesame customer interaction; c) if said data record and said second datarecord contain information relating to the same customer interaction,correlate said data record and said second data record; d) storeinformation from said second data record in said computer memory.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein said set of computer executable instructionsis further configured to make at least one recommendation regardingprocessing said customer interaction.
 4. The system of claim 3 whereinsaid set of computer executable instructions is further configured to:a) identify a set of actions; b) perform an evaluation of thedesirability of an action in said set of actions; wherein said set ofcomputer executable instructions is further configured to make said atleast one recommendation based at least in part on said evaluation ofthe desirability of the action in said set of actions.
 5. The system ofclaim 3 wherein: a) said one or more models comprises a statisticalprediction model; b) said set of computer executable instructions isfurther configured to make said at least one recommendation based onsaid statistical prediction model.
 6. The system of claim 5 wherein saidone or more model updates created by said set of computer executableinstructions comprises an update for said statistical prediction model.7. The system of claim 3 wherein said set of computer executableinstructions is further configured to make said at least onerecommendation based on a means for evaluating options.
 8. The system ofclaim 1 wherein said set of computer executable instructions is furtherconfigured to determine at least one word included in a statement fromsaid one or more customer statements.
 9. The system of claim 8 wherein:a) said one or more models in said computer memory comprises astatistical language model; b) said set of computer executableinstructions is further configured to determine the at least one wordincluded in a statement from said one or more customer statements basedon said statistical language model.
 10. The system of claim 9 whereinsaid one or more model updates created by said set of computerexecutable instructions comprises an update for said statisticallanguage model.
 11. The system of claim 1 wherein said set of computerexecutable instructions is further configured to determine a meaning ofa statement from said one or more customer statements.
 12. The system ofclaim 11 wherein: a) said one or more models in said computer memorycomprises a semantic classification model; b) said set of computerexecutable instructions is further configured to determine said meaningof a statement from said one or more customer statements based on saidsemantic classification model.
 13. The system of claim 12 wherein saidone or more model updates created by said set of computer executableinstructions comprises an update for said semantic classification model.14. The system of claim 1 wherein said one or more model updates arecomprised of one or more updated models.
 15. The system of claim 1wherein said computer memory further contains: a) a set of potentialcall dispositions; b) an indication of the desirability of said calldispositions; c) a record of a disposition of said customer interaction.16. The system of claim 1 wherein said set of computer executableinstructions is further configured to automatically update one or moreof said models using one or more of said model updates in response to atrigger.
 17. The system of claim 16 wherein the trigger is a usagemilestone.
 18. The system of claim 1 wherein said set of computerexecutable instructions is further configured to coordinate processingof said customer interaction through the implementation of one or moreactions.
 19. A computerized system for improving an interactive voiceresponse system comprising: a) an interactive voice response system; b)a decision agent; and c) a feedback system; wherein: a) said interactivevoice response system is activated by initiation of a customerinteraction, said customer interaction comprising: i) one or morestatements made by a customer; ii) one or more prompts played for saidcustomer; b) said decision agent is configured with a set of computerexecutable instructions to determine a route through said interactivevoice response system; wherein said set of computer executableinstructions is configured to determine said route based on: i) a set ofinformation related to said customer interaction; ii) a predictionmodel; c) upon completion of said customer interaction, said interactivevoice response system is configured to transfer said customer to acustomer service representative; d) said customer service representativedetermines a customer satisfaction level with said interactive voiceresponse system; e) said customer satisfaction level is reported to saidfeedback system; f) said feedback system is configured to modify saidprediction model based at least in part on said customer satisfactionlevel.
 20. A computer readable medium having computer executableinstructions for performing the method comprising the steps of: a)capturing a natural language statement made during an interaction with aself care system; b) automatically creating a textual representation ofsaid natural language statement using a computer program; c) associatingsaid textual representation of said natural language statement with aset of context information corresponding to said natural languagestatement; d) adding said textual representation of said naturallanguage statement and said set of context information to a first datarecord; e) merging said first data record and a second data record tocreate a third data record, said second data record comprising a set ofinformation related to an interaction with an assisted care system; f)automatically generating a statistical language model based at least inpart on said third data record; g) updating the computer program usingsaid statistical language model.
 21. A computer readable medium havingcomputer executable instructions for performing the method comprisingthe steps of: a) capturing a natural language statement made during aninteraction with a self care system; b) automatically creating a textualrepresentation of said natural language statement; c) automaticallycreating a classification corresponding to said natural languagestatement; d) adding said textual representation and said classificationto a first data record; e) appending said classification to a seconddata record, said second data record comprising a set of informationrelated to an interaction with an assisted care system; f) merging saidfirst data record and said second data record to create a third datarecord; g) automatically generating a semantic model based at least inpart on said third data record; h) updating the computer program usingsaid semantic model.